Shame on me! Marathon & Transitions

First of all:
SHAME ON ME!

I know my last blog entry was over two months ago. Saying that I didn't have the time would be a lie. That I wasn't inspired - maybe.

Anyways, I came to the conclusion that I actually want to keep this blog going. Despite that fact that my time at Stanford will be over in less than a month. And despite the fact that my life as a consultant in New York will likely (though I am fighting hard to prove me wrong) be less exciting than my life in Palo Alto.

So, I want to write about two things today: (1) I ran a marathon and (2) Transitioning to a new phase of my life

Marathon

KM 42 - Almost there

After running 20km with Reinhard two months ago I thought it would be a fun idea to sign up for a marathon. Even though I am in A LOT of pain right now (think stomach bug + extremely sore + the flu), I am quite happy I did it and completed the "Surfers Path" marathon in Santa Cruz & Capitola Village in 3:36:06h. Two remarkable things from the marathon are the realization that socializing without consuming alcohol is awkward and something to get used to. One gets constantly asked why one is not drinking and one has to be almost defensive about the choice to not do it. A lot of events are also much less fun (some even not quite bearable) without some beers. On the other hand though - I slept better, was much fitter and had beverages I actually like the taste of  (Traders Joe's Ginger Beer - Good stuff). The other thing I noticed is that a lot of people at business school had done marathons. The percentage is probably much higher than among the general population. When thinking of a stereotypical business school student I will now have to include "completed a marathon" as one of the characteristics, alongside being extensively travelled and not having specific skills in any area. When people ask me why I ran it I usually reply "I liked the challenge". Go figure!

Transitions
I might have written about this after my first year at Stanford: I really don't like ending things. Not because I am so sad to leave a certain place, but because I feel that I can't be fully present anymore. I don't like doing things for the last time, being sentimental and dragging the leaving process out. If it was up to me Id just do business as usual and then leave from one day to the other. Right now I am planning my summer, looking for apartments, think about traveling, packing things up etc etc, but I am not really at Stanford anymore. It is like I am floating between different phases of my life not fully knowing where I am currently. I remember having this feeling when I started my job after undergrad, when I finished my job and went to Stanford and when I left Stanford to work for McKinsey in London last summer. So, how to combat that feeling of being in between places - no idea. Since I like to plan its difficult to just "be here".

Cheers + bis bald,
TIM

They Eat Humans at McKinsey

Some of the comments I got when making the choice about which consulting firm to join over the summer actually went into that direction. Consultants at Bain are best friends and party a lot. People at McKinsey are socially awkward and don't have friends. People at BCG are maybe a bit boring, fairly nerdy, but generally capable of human interaction.

After more than a month at The Firm I have to say that I haven't yet eaten human flesh or had someone take a healthy bite off my bicep. I have actually had some decent conversations with people that have had human contact before, showed signs of warmth and even offered help. I even drank alcohol with them. So I would say it is like a lot of things: pretty fun when you actually do it.

I want to make this article about simplifications. Why is it that we call people from McKinsey social outcasts and why do we think that people at Google are fun? I think its heuristic, its a mental short-cut to make sense of something that is really difficult to comprehend. Things such as corporate culture exist, yet they are very difficult to express and therefore often oversimplified. In order to make difficult things understandable we generalize, use strong language and examples. And it very often serves a purpose. At the same time it might lead one into the wrong direction if this is the only argument one has when making a decision.

When I thought about joining McKinsey I knew about the sometimes rather negative stereotypes. Other things were really drawing me towards the company such as the strong footprint in Africa, the size and brand recognition and the fact that many great friends at Stanford have actually worked there. Only looking at this one mental shortcut datapoint might have led to me making a different decision. I actually think some of those data points are positives for me. I felt that I was getting honest answers from McKinsey recruiting staff when I asked about the people working there. I was told that not everyone is cool and helpful, but once you've been there for a while you know who to work with and who to avoid. I prefer that over being told that everyone will be my new best friend.

Anyways. To conclude the blog post about which consulting firm to choose (which is a massive first world problem and I am hesitant to actually call it a problem) I'd like to quote a great person from Stanford.

"Tim, consulting firms are like red wine. People have strong opinions and talk a lot about the differences. But you will see that in the end, during the blind tasting, it all tastes the same and no one can tell the difference".

Cheers + bis bald,
TIM

I Want to Leave Stanford!

I really hate ending things. I remember many last days of school before the break. Nervousness builds up gradually, you can't stop from checking your watch (or later: you phone) and you just want it to be over. Not because school was any worse on that last day (actually it was much better, because the grades were locked in and no one gave a sh**), but mainly because one was looking forward to something new and exciting. I am not afraid of endings and everything associated with it. I don't want time to stop, I actually want it to move faster.

I feel like that right now. I will be leaving for my summer internship on Wednesday morning (that means two more days in Palo Alto) and I can't wait to get onto that plane and have United Airlines fly me to London. And I am actually really conflicted about this feeling. I mean, I am having a great life right now. I have made tons of new friends that I won't see for three months and yet: I want to leave. My prospect is an unknown environment, long hours of work and once more living out of the suitcase. There is maybe a slight feeling of sadness, but my overwhelming emotion is nervousness and excitement that has been building up for over two weeks.

I guess I have always been like that. Somewhat restless. My fear though is that by looking forward to the future I forget to live in the here and now. I forget to value that conversation with a good friend or that pizza & wine mixer happening in half an hour. I am sure that in five years I would pay big bucks to have only one of those days back. And yet right now I am treating this day as a mere transition to something else and don't pay any attention. I should stop that!

Cheers + Bis Bald!